The Eight-Hour Stopover
by writing-to-music
Summary: Dan hates flying. And airports. And stopovers. But will the appearance of a certain blue-eyed, black-haired man change that opinion? AU friendship!Phan. Please review! Nominated in the 2016 Phanfic Awards.
**A/N: Hey guys! So I'm trying my hand at Phanfiction, because I have had a recent obsession with Dan and Phil, and I love their videos so, so much. However, let it be known that I do not ship Phan as more than a bromance. They're the ideal best friends; however, I think them as a couple is kinda weird. No hate, I respect people that do ship them together, but it just doesn't work for me. That being said, enjoy the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I own no one and nothing. Please don't sue me.**

Dan _hated_ airports. He _hated_ flying. But most of all, he hated stopovers. Sitting in a hard black seat next to rows of other seats, some empty, some occupied by a multitude of strangers, Dan put his headphones on and blended smoothly into the faded black seat. Just the weird kid dressed in black clothes and listening to music that wasn't quite any genre. Dan never failed to feel amused and bitter – a strange mix of emotions – when he saw how easily so many people's eyes slid over him.

The people came and went. The seats filled and emptied. As he had an eight-hour layover here, he wouldn't be joining the crowd lining up for boarding the plane anytime soon. As there was nothing he could do about it, Dan forced himself content with this. Only seven more hours to go. Dan had taken a seat towards the back for the express purpose that no one would sit close to him. He didn't feel like dealing with a chatty stranger, and the headphones were usually an excellent deterrent towards people looking for company. Dan closed his eyes, figuring he should probably try to get some sleep.

That was why Dan was so surprised when he opened his eyes awhile later to find a stranger walking towards him. The stranger was a man, a little older than Dan, looking to be in his early twenties. He had black hair that looked like it hadn't been cut for a while, and he looked about as tall as Dan. He was wearing sunglasses, so Dan could not determine his eye color.

Not that he cared. Dan only cared about what the hell he was doing, sitting down _right next to Dan._ There were at least twenty free seats closer to the gate than this one. Dan sighed loudly, hoping that would act as a deterrent, but the guy sat down in the seat by his.

Trying to ignore him, Dan checked the time – six hours to go – and then focused on the music playing softly in his ears. No sooner had he blocked out the man, though, than he felt a soft tap on his shoulder. Dan flinched, and the source of the tap – yes, the man next to him – drew back. He made a gesture that indicated "take off your headphones", and without knowing why, Dan did so.

"Sorry to bother you, but can you tell me what time it is? My phone died," and to prove his point, he held up a blank-screened iPhone.

"About 2:00," Dan answered tiredly.

"Great, only six more hours to go."

This caught Dan off guard. Were they on the same flight? The man noticed his surprise and said quickly, "Are you going to Manchester too?"

"No, I'm not. I'm going to London."

A moment of somewhat-awkward silence descended on them. The black-haired man spoke again, a bit hesitantly.

"Would you like to go get lunch? We do have six more hours to wait, after all."

Dan's eyes widened. As if seeing this, the man backtracked. "I mean, you don't have to, I'm not asking you out or anything-"

"Okay," Dan cut him off. He felt oddly comfortable with this person, as if they had known each other longer than two minutes. And even if he was a creeper, well, Dan was eighteen and could take care of himself. "What's your name?"

"Phil," the man said, taking off his sunglasses. His eyes were the brightest blue Dan had ever seen. He broke into a wide smile. "Yours?"

"Dan," Dan replied, and Phil's smile was so infectious that he couldn't help smiling a little himself.

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They had lunch in a tiny, overpriced "market café" a little while away from the gate. At first, while walking to the restaurant, their conversation was stilted and awkward, especially on the shy Dan's part. But Phil eventually broke him out of his shell when he mentioned Death Note, and soon the two were happily chatting about the story and how two of the characters looked just like them.

Over lunch, which consisted mainly of way-too-expensive sandwiches and cheap coffee (the latter mainly because both boys were jet-lagged), they discussed many things. Dan warmed to Phil, who was like no one he'd ever met before.

Phil didn't tease him about his "emo" haircut. He didn't even mention it, except to say that wasn't it funny that his haircut was almost exactly the same, except parted the other way? Phil didn't call him weird, or lame, or nerdy – in fact, Phil was definitely as nerdy as Dan. Phil treated Dan like a friend, like a best friend, not like someone he'd just met. Dan had never had a best friend before, and he didn't want to think about what would happen once their plane landed in London.

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After lunch, neither of them felt like going back to the hard black plastic seats, so they silently agreed that they wouldn't. Instead, Dan suggested a game of Truth or Dare. They walked over to where the chintzy little shops were.

"Okay, Phil, truth or dare?" asked Dan.

"Dare!" replied Phil eagerly.

Dan thought for a moment, before it came to him. "I dare you to ride on that moving pavement, balanced on the railing, Superman-style," he declared, trying to stifle his laughter.

Phil took the dare, and as he attempted to balance on his tummy on the railing, Dan couldn't contain his laughter. It felt very good to laugh. He should do that more often. And he wasn't the only one laughing. There were many passengers on the moving pavement who were in fits at Phil's attempts to not fall off the rail.

Once he reached the end, Phil grinned embarrassedly and went back over to Dan. He had a bit of a twinkle in his eye that was just unnerving enough for Dan to pick truth.

"Truth: What's your favourite band?"

Dan thought that was bit of a tame question to ask, but Phil had clearly been off guard and expected Dan to pick dare. Dan grinned.

"Muse. My turn."

They continued on like this for awhile, buying snacks at the shops, wandering the airport and getting to know each other, and they both had so much fun that they were incredibly surprised at how fast the time went. The hours passed like minutes, and soon enough it was time to line up at their gates.

And when Dan left Phil at his gate, at eight o'clock, he felt oddly empty. His home lay behind him, and uni in London lay ahead. He was going to study law, and he was going to hate it. But right at that moment, Dan didn't miss home the way he missed the companionship that Phil had brought to him, if only for those eight hours.

Headphones on, walking quickly to his gate, Dan almost didn't notice the tap on his shoulder.

"Dan! Wait up!"

Dan stopped in his tracks, and Phil collided with him from behind. The two boys fell in a heap on the cold tile of the airport, laughing. Dan got up, then helped up Phil. They dusted themselves off. It was like they were in a bubble. The stifled giggles and semi-concerned stares of the other people in the airport were lost to them.

"Dan, I was standing in line to get on the plane, and I realized-"Phil paused to catch his breath.

Dan waited nervously. He would have given a lot to be able to read Phil's thoughts then.

"-I didn't give you my cell number," Phil finished. He held out a slip of paper. "Call me. I live in London."

"But, you're going to Manchester!"

Phil smiled his light-up-the-world smile. "I'm visiting my family."

Dan's spirits rose. Now he had, or would have, one friend in London. What if- oh, Dan had to ask.

"Phil, are you by any chance looking for a roommate?"

Phil's eyes lit up. "As a matter of fact, Dan, I am."

An announcement blared over the loudspeaker. " _Final boarding call for flight AB209 to Manchester._ "

The boys exchanged a slightly panicked look. Phil said, "Call me!" really fast, and rushed back to the gate, where straggling people were filing into the tunnel that led to the plane. With a last look back, Phil joined them.

Dan stood for a moment and let that sink in. Phil lived in London? He was looking for a roommate?

Going to uni had never felt more exciting, or more promising.

And there had never been an eight-hour stopover that was more fun.

 **A/N: What did you think? Please tell me! Reviews are love!**


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